Mounting Arrangement For Installing Auxiliary Vehicle Wheels

ABSTRACT

A mounting arrangement for adding an auxiliary wheel spaced from an existing wheel of a motor vehicle including two or more generally cylindrical spacers connected together abutting end to end, an inner spacer attached to a brake assembly member with a preexisting wheel rim compressed between an inside face of the inner spacer and the brake assembly member, and an outer spacer connected to the inner spacer by bolts, and holding stud bolts extending out and received through holes in the auxiliary wheel rim, with lug nuts fixing the rim of the auxiliary wheel against the outside end of the outer spacer. An intermediate spacer between the inner and outer spacers may alternatively be provided detachably connecting the inner and outer spacers together, attached to an outside end of the inner spacer and to the inside end of the outer spacer by bolts.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Ser. No. 14/702,853filed on May 4, 2015 which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 62/146,529 filed on Apr. 13, 2015.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application concerns a mounting arrangement allowing one or morewheels to be added to a motor vehicle axle for achieving improvedtraction and support for the vehicle weight when being driven on unpavedsurfaces.

It has long been realized that adding one or more auxiliary wheels to atleast two vehicle axles will greatly improve mobility particularly whendriving off road.

Various adapters and extensions have been devised to add such auxiliarywheels, but none of these have provided a practical and convenientlyinstalled mounting of such wheels.

Any mounting must provide adequate support for the auxiliary wheel andshould be convenient to install in the field when extra traction andsupport is needed.

Some prior mounting arrangements are complex and require special wheelrims, which add substantially to the expense of adding auxiliary wheels.

In other mountings, the mounted wheels are spaced too close togetherallowing mud to become packed into the gap between the wheels, whichmust be removed periodically.

Also, mountings for auxiliary wheels must not have any gaps orclearances between the moving components because the presence of suchclearances may lead to loosening of the components over time. At thesame time, some clearances are necessary in order to be able to easilyassemble the components and connect them to an existing axle.

The components themselves must also be sufficiently sturdy to adequatelysupport the auxiliary wheels, but also should not be too heavy such asto make the vehicle heavier and thus affect the rate of fuel consumptionof the vehicle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mountingarrangement for adding auxiliary wheels to trucks or other motorvehicles, which also provides adequate support for any auxiliary wheels.

It is an additional object to provide such mounting arrangement whichallows the use of standard wheel rims and is easy and quick to installwhen needed.

It is a further object to provide such mounting arrangement for addingauxiliary wheels which eliminates any clearances which could causelooseness over time while still allowing assembly of the wheel to themounting components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above recited objects and other objects which will be understood bythose skilled in the art are achieved by a mounting arrangementincluding two or more generally cylindrical spacers detachably connectedtogether.

An inner spacer closest to the axle has a series of counterbored holesarranged about its perimeter opening into an outer end of the innerspacer, a larger diameter section of each hole is aligned with a smallerdiameter hole opening into the inside end of the inner spacer. A seriesof wheel mounting studs projecting from an existing member of a brakeassembly are inserted into the small diameter hole to have their endsdisposed in the larger diameter hole sections. Lug nuts are insertedinto the larger diameter holes from the outer end of the inner spacerand threaded onto the studs and advanced to engage the tapered end ofthe large diameter hole sections. The inner spacer has a shoulderprojecting through a central wheel rim opening, with a lip extendingaround the rim opening compressed by tightening the lug nuts to seat theinner spacer against the wheel rim and brake assembly member to bedeflected inwardly into tight engagement with the outside diameter of ashoulder on the inner spacer to eliminate any clearances between the rimand the inner spacer.

An outer spacer is detachably connected to the inner spacer, to eitherhave one end in direct abutment with an inside spacer end or with theinner and outer spacers separated and connected together by a separateintermediate spacer. If intermediate spacer is included, the outerspacer has its inner end held in abutment with the outside end of theintermediate spacer. A counterbored opening is recessed into the innerside of the outer spacer which slidably receives a shoulder projectingfrom the outside end of the intermediate spacer.

The inside end of the outer spacer abuts the outside end of theintermediate spacer and is tightly held in that position by an annularseries of bolts received into corresponding set of counterbored holesextending into the outside end of the outer spacer and received intocorresponding threaded holes in the outside end of the intermediatespacer.

A series of interspaced stud bolts are received in a corresponding setof axial holes extending out from the inner end of the outer spacer andproject out from the outer end of the outer spacer.

A rim of an auxiliary wheel to be installed has a large central openingdefined by an inwardly angled lip is received onto an outer reduceddiameter shoulder at the end of the outer spacer. The wheel rim has aset of holes into which is received the outer spacer stud bolts. Lugnuts are threaded onto the stud bolts and compress the wheel rim lipagainst a shoulder formed by the reduced diameter shoulder on the outerspacer deforming the lip inwardly and against the outside diameter ofthe reduced diameter shoulder to eliminate any clearance spaces.

The separate intermediate spacer may be eliminated by incorporating alarger outer spacer in the mounting arrangement. The stud holes are thenextended through the longer outer spacer, and the outer spacer is bolteddirectly to the inner spacer thereby having ends in direct abutment.

The outer stud and lug nut holes are aligned with each other in thisconstruction when the inner and outer spacers are bolted together. Theinner and outer spacers are not joined together when the mountingarrangement is initiated installation. The separated inner spacer isfirst installed on the studs projecting from the braking disc/hubassembly by lug nuts inserted into holes extending in from the outer endof the inner spacer, these holes large enough to accommodate a socketwrench to enable tightening of the lug nuts from the outside end.

The outer spacer is then attached to the inner spacer after the studsfor mounting the auxiliary wheel rim have been installed, inserted intoholes extending out from the inside end thereof and press fit in smallerholes which engage the studs to hold the threaded ends projecting fromhaving shanks outer end of the outer spacer, ready to receive the outerwheel rim therein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial rear view of a pickup truck having an auxiliarywheel installed on each rear axle using mounting arrangements accordingto the invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional view of the mounting arrangementaccording to the invention assembled to each rear axle with a pair ofauxiliary wheel rims installed thereon.

FIG. 3 is an exploded pictorial view from the left of the components ofthe mounting arrangement and the two wheel rims to be installed shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded pictorial view from the left of an originalequipment wheel and some of the components of the mounting arrangementshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 associated therewith.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded pictorial view from the left of anauxiliary wheel to be installed and the components of the arrangementshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 associated therewith.

FIG. 6 is an exploded pictorial view of three spacer from the rightincluded in the mounting arrangement according to the invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the partiallysectional view of FIG. 2 on the right side.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged portion of FIG. 7 showing optional anti-looseningfeatures for the lug nuts.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the sectionalview of FIG. 2 on the left side.

FIG. 9 is a partially exploded sectional view of another embodiment ofan auxiliary wheel mounting arrangement according to the invention witha brake rotor and hub assembly normally attached thereto but shownseparated therefrom in the FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a pictorial view of a mounting arrangement assembled to thebrake rotor and hub assembly.

FIG. 11 is an end view of the mounting arrangement shown in FIGS. 9 and10.

FIG. 12 is a pictorial view of an inner spacer included in the mountingarrangement shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is an end view of the inner spacer shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a view of the section 14-14 taken in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a pictorial view of an outer spacer included in the mountingarrangement shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 16 is an end view of the outer spacer shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a view of the section 17-17 taken in FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology willbe employed for the sake of clarity and a particular embodimentdescribed in accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it isto be understood that the same is not intended to be limiting and shouldnot be so construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking manyforms and variations within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the Drawings, FIG. 1 shows a pickup truck 10 in which anauxiliary wheel 12 has been added on each side by means of a mountingarrangement 14 according to the invention.

Each auxiliary wheel 12 is located spaced outwardly spaced from thepreexisting original equipment wheel 16 by the mounting arrangement 14.

The wheels 12, 16 are installed by attaching the standard rims 18, 20 ofthe wheels 12, 16 to a respective mounting arrangement 14 as describedin detail hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 2, each mounting arrangement 14 is here comprised ofthree joined together spacers, a first or inner spacer 22, a second orintermediate spacer 24 and a third or outer spacer 26, each preferablymade of aluminum and of a generally annular cylindrical shape.

The inner spacer 22 is fixedly attached to an existing brake assemblymember 28 by a set of stud bolts 30 which each pass through one of theholes 32 arranged around the wheel rim 20 (FIG. 4) and thence through anannular array of aligned counterbored holes 34 in the inner spacer 22.Lug nuts 36 are accommodated by the larger diameter portion 34A ofcounterbored holes 34 aligned with stud bolt receiving hole portions 34Bso as to allow a socket wrench to be used to tighten the lug nuts 36against the tapered ends and secure the wheel rim 20 in place by beingclamped between the right side of the inner spacer 22 and the left sideof a brake assembly member 28.

As best seen in FIG. 5, a large diameter opening 38 centered in thewheel rim 20 (FIG. 4) receives a reduced diameter shoulder 40 of innerspacer 22 projecting through the opening 38. Clearances are provided toenable assembly together of the wheel rim 20, inner spacer 22 over thestud bolts 30, the inside diameter 23 and a shoulder 29 of the brakeassembly rotor 28. However, these clearances could cause development oflooseness in the connections over time as the wheels and the mountingspacers 22, 24, 26 are rotated at high speed when the vehicle is beingdriven.

The standard wheel rim 20 therefore is formed with an angled lip 42formed around the opening 38, which is compressed by tightening of thelug nuts 36. This tightening of the lug nuts 36 forces the lip 42 to bedeflected inwardly to engage the shoulder 40 (FIG. 6) and completelyeliminate any clearance to create a tight fit of the wheel rim 20 ontothe inner spacer 22.

This compressive loading also maintains high frictional forcespreventing loosening of the lug nuts.

Optionally, spring washers 31 or set screws 33 (FIG. 7A) can be used tofurther secure the lug nuts 36 (and other described herein) againstloosening.

The intermediate spacer 24 is formed with a reduced diameter right sideshoulder 44 which is slidably received in the inside diameter of a leftside counterbore 46 in the inner spacer 22 (FIG. 2) to be centeredthereon.

The right end face 48 of the intermediate spacer 24 is held in abutmentagainst the left end face 50 of the inner spacer 22 by a circular arrayof long bolts 52 each received and passing through holes 54 extendingaxially completely through the intermediate spacer 24, with the threadedend of each bolt 52 advanced into a threaded hole 56 extending into theouter side of the inner spacer 22. The head 53 of each bolt 52 seats atthe bottom of a counterbore 54A of an associated hole 54.

The outer spacer 26 has a recess 58 receiving therein a left sidereduced diameter shoulder 60 with a sliding fit therebetween.

A right end face 62 of outer spacer 26 is held in abutment against aleft end face 64 of the intermediate spacer 24 by a circular array ofbolts 66 received in a respective one of holes 68. A counterbore 68A ofeach hole 68 accommodates the head of the bolt 66 received therein withsufficient clearance so as to allow tightening with a socket wrench (notshown).

A circular array of stud bolts 70 are installed to extend through holes22 in outer spacer 26 with counterbores 72A accommodating the headsthereof. A press fit holds the stud bolts 70 therein in the well knownmanner.

The stud bolts 70 project through the left end of the outer spacer 26and through mounting holes 74 of a conventional rim 76 of the auxiliarywheel 16.

Lug nuts 78 installed on the lug bolts 70 draw the rim 76 tightlyagainst a left end 80 of outer spacer 26, as best seen in FIG. 8.

Outer spacer 26 has a reduced diameter shoulder 82 which slidably passesinto the center hole 84 in the wheel rim 76.

The lug nuts 78 when tightened compress an angled lip 86 formed into theperimeter of the opening 84 (FIG. 8) against the step formed by shoulder82.

The perimeter of the opening 84 has a radial clearance with shoulder 82to allow assembly but upon tightening of the lug nuts 78 and inwarddeflection of the lip 86 to engage the shoulder 82, all clearancetherebetween is eliminated so that a tight fit is produced. This insuresthat no looseness develops over time, while assembly and disassembly ofthe wheel 12 is facilitated by the clearances which exists prior totightening of the lug nuts 70.

The interfit spacers 22, 24, 26 when bolted together end to end providea very sturdy cantilevered support for the auxiliary wheel 12 forming aunitary structure which will not loosen over time.

The thick walls of the annular spacers allow the use of aluminum intheir construction to lighten their weight to enable easy handling whenbeing installed and to reduce the rotating mass and unspring weight.

Standard wheel rims are used to lower the cost of the installation whilethe mounting ensures adequate spacing between the original and auxiliarywheels to avoid packing the space with dirt and other debris.

The deflection of the wheel rim lips insures a tight fit onto the matingspacers while allowing ready assembly of the wheel rims to the spacerassembly thereby provides achievement of the objects of the inventionrecited above by the arrangement described.

FIGS. 9-17 show a second embodiment of the mounting arrangement 88 whichis mounted to a brake rotor 90 and hub assembly 92.

In this embodiment the separate intermediate spacer is omitted with anannular inner spacer 94 interfit to an annular outer spacer 96 by beingfit over a shoulder 97 which are bolted together with a series of longbolts 98 received in counterbores 100 and threaded into aligned threadedholes 102 in the inner spacer 94.

Thus, the inner spacer 94 and outer spacer 96 are detachably connecteddirectly together in direct contact with each other rather than by anintermediate spacer as described above. The outer spacer 96 is madelonger than in the first described embodiment to provide adequatespacing to accommodate the auxiliary wheel (not shown).

The inner spacer 94 is also formed with counterbore holes 104 largeenough to receive lug nuts 105 with sufficient clearance to accommodatea socket wrench to enable advance or lug nuts 106 onto studs 108 held onbrake rotor 90 and hub 92 and projecting through smaller hole 104 wherethe lug nut 106 is confined and advanced onto the stud bolt 108.

The outer spacer 96 has counterbored holes 100 which are sized to eachaccept a stud bolt 112 with an aligned smaller diameter hole 114allowing the body of a stud bolt 112 to pass out the end of outer spacer96 and through holes in a wheel (not shown) received over shoulder 122to enable securement thereon by a lug nut 112. The stud bolts 112 havesplined features on their shanks press fit into the holes 114 to be heldprojecting out of outer spacer 96 as shown.

The inner spacer 94 has a shoulder 118 used to create a tight joint withthe wheel as described above. The outer spacer 96 has a shoulder 120 onthe right end as shown in the drawings which receives thereon left endof the inner spacer 94 in order to align the two spacers 94, 96.

The outer spacer also has a shoulder 122 which creates a tight fit withrespect to the auxiliary wheel rim (not shown), as described inconnection with the first embodiment 14.

1. An arrangement for adding an auxiliary wheel comprised of a tiremounted on a wheel rim to an axle of a motor vehicle on which isinstalled a wheel comprising: a pair of generally cylindrical spacersdetachably connected together in axial alignment with each other,including an inner spacer having a circumferentially arranged series ofholes, each receiving one of a set of stud bolts carried by a rotor of awheel brake assembly of said vehicle, said inner spacer having ashoulder receiving a rim of a wheel of said vehicle installed thereon,said stud bolt holes each counterbored to accept one of a set of studnuts each threaded onto a respective stud bolt which are advanced onsaid stud bolts to draw an inside end of said inner spacer into abutmentwith said wheel rim which is thereby pressed against said brake assemblyrotor; an outer spacer detachably connected to said inner spacer inalignment therewith; a set of counterbored holes extending axially intosaid inside end of said outer spacer aligned with a set of holes formedin a rim of said auxiliary wheel, a set of stud bolt holes inserted intosaid counterbored holes and through said rim holes, with a set of lugnuts each installed on a respective one of said stud bolts so as to drawsaid wheel rim against an outer end of said outer spacer, whereby saidinner and outer spacers are detachably connected together and with aninner end of said inner spacer fixed to be abutted against said innerend of said rotor of said brake assembly of said vehicle.
 2. Thearrangement according to claim 1 wherein an inside end of a reduceddiameter shoulder is formed on said inner spacer adjacent said brakeassembly member, with said rim of said existing wheel including anopening received over said shoulder of said inner spacer.
 3. Thearrangement according to claim 2 wherein said wheel rim opening isdefined by an angled lip inclined inwardly towards said shoulder andsaid brake assembly member aligned with said shoulder to thereby becompressed as said lug nuts are tightened whereby said lip is forced tobe deflected inwardly and into contact with said shoulder by compressingsaid lip between said brake assembly member and said end face of saidinner spacer to eliminate any clearance between the inside said lip andsaid shoulder.
 4. The arrangement according to claim 3 wherein theoutside end of said outer spacer has a reduced diameter shoulderprojecting axially outwardly from said outer spacer of a diameterslightly smaller than an opening in said wheel rim received over saidshoulder, said opening defined by a lip on said rim defining theperimeter of said opening, said lip angled down towards said shoulderand back towards a step adjacent said shoulder, said rim opening definedby said lip being slightly larger in diameter than said shoulderdiameter to allow said rim to be assembled onto said shoulder, said lipcompressed by tightening said lug nuts engaging the outside of said rimof said auxiliary wheel forcing said lip against said step therebycausing said lip to be deformed radially inward against said shoulderinto contact therewith to eliminate any clearance therebetween.
 5. Thearrangement according to claim 1 further including an intermediatespacer having an inside end abutting an outside end of said insidespacer, with an annularly arranged set of bolts each passing through arespective one of a set of counterbored holes extending axiallycompletely through said intermediate spacers and into a respective oneof a set of threaded holes extending in from said outside end of saidinside spacer to fixedly hold said intermediate and inner spacerstogether abutted end to end; and said outer spacer having an inside endabutting an outside end of said intermediate spacer with a set ofannularly arranged counterbored holes extending through said outerspacer aligned with a set of threaded holes extending into said outerend of said inner spacer and a set of bolts installed in respective saidcounterbore holes and advanced into a respective one of said set ofthreaded holes to hold said ends of said outer spacer and intermediatespacer in abutment with each other whereby said inner spacer and saidouter spacer are detachably connected together by said intermediatespacer.
 6. An arrangement for adding an auxiliary wheel comprised of atire mounted on a wheel rim to an axle of a motor vehicle on which isinstalled a conventional wheel, comprising: a pair of spacers detachablyconnected together in axial alignment with each other, including; aninner spacer having an annularly arranged series of holes, eachreceiving one of a set of stud bolts carried by a member of a wheelbrake assembly of said vehicle, said inner spacer having a shoulderreceiving a rim of an existing wheel of said vehicle thereon, said holescounterbored to accept one of a set of stud nuts each threaded onto arespective stud bolt which are advanced on said stud bolts to draw aninside end of said inner spacer into abutment with said wheel rim andsaid wheel rim against said brake assembly member; and an outer spacerdetachably connected in alignment with said inner spacer; a set ofthrough holes extending axially into said inside end of an outer spaceraligned with a set of stud bolt holes formed in a conventional rim ofsaid auxiliary wheel, a set of stud bolts inserted into said holes andthrough said rim holes, with a set of lug nuts each installed on arespective one of said stud bolts so as to draw said wheel rim againstan outer end of said outer spacer, whereby an inner end of said innerspacer is fixed to said member of said brake assembly of said vehicleand to said wheel rim of said preexisting wheel, and said outer spacerhas said rim of said auxiliary wheel mounted thereto.
 7. The arrangementaccording to claim 6 further including an intermediate spacer connectedat one end to an outer end of said inner spacer and at an opposite endto an inner end of said outer spacer to detachably connect said innerspacer to said outer spacer with an outer end of said inner spacer andan inside end of said intermediate spacer including a reduced diametershoulder formed on one of said ends slidingly received inside an openingin an outer one of said end faces of said inner and intermediate spacersto be aligned therewith.
 8. The arrangement of claim 7 wherein anoutside end of said intermediate spacer and an inside end of said outerspacer include a reduced diameter shoulder formed on one of said spacerends and a bore formed in the other spacer end slidingly receiving saidshoulder therein.
 9. The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein aninside end of a reduced diameter shoulder is formed on said inner spacerend adjacent said brake assembly rotor, with said rim of said existingwheel includes an opening slidably received over said shoulder of saidinner spacer.
 10. The arrangement according to claim 9 wherein saidwheel rim opening is defined by an angled lip inclined inwardly towardssaid shoulder and said brake assembly member aligned with said shoulderto thereby be compressed as said lug nuts are tightened whereby said lipis forced to be deflected inwardly and into contact with said innerspacer shoulder by compressing said lip between said brake assemblyrotor and said end face of said inner spacer to eliminate any clearancebetween the inside said lip and said shoulder.
 11. The arrangementaccording to claim 10 wherein the outside end of said outer spacer has areduced diameter shoulder projecting axially outwardly from said outerspacer of a diameter slightly smaller than an opening in said auxiliarywheel rim received over said shoulder, said opening defined by a lip onsaid rim defining the perimeter of said opening, said lip angled downtowards said shoulder and back towards an end face adjacent saidshoulder, said rim opening defined by said lip being slightly larger indiameter than said shoulder diameter to allow said rim to be assembledonto said shoulder, said lip compressed by tightening said lug nutsengaging the outside of said rim of said auxiliary wheel forcing saidlip against said end face thereby causing said lip to be deformedradially inward against said shoulder and into contact therewith toeliminate any clearance therebetween.